Method for selecting products

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for selecting products, wherein with each product there is associated a data set with a plurality of product characteristics, wherein the selection of a product is performed based on criteria selected by a user relating to the characteristics, and wherein the selection is displayed on a graphic display unit.  
     The object of the invention to simplify the selection process in such a way that the number of results is limited by simplifying the criteria for the characteristics, is solved by setting the criteria for the characteristics on at least two scales and setting the criteria on the scales with the help of at least one input device in conjunction with the graphic display unit.

[0001] The invention relates to a method for selecting products, whereinwith each product there is associated a data set with a plurality ofcharacteristics of the product, wherein the selection of a product isperformed based on user-defined criteria relating to thecharacteristics, and wherein the selection is displayed on a graphicdisplay unit.

[0002] Methods known so far for selecting products allow the user toperform a targeted search for individual products in a product groupwith the help of search functions. The products are classified based ontheir characteristics and data sets are generated for the individualproducts. The database generated in this manner can be searched by usingvarious search algorithms according to the criteria inputted by theuser. It happens frequently during searches in large databases that anexceedingly large number of products matches the search criteriainputted by the user which makes it very difficult for the user to makea selection.

[0003] One example for the aforedescribed selection method is theInternet sales offer from the company Amazon.com. This online merchantoffers a variety of products via its Internet pages. The products areinitially subdivided into product groups, such as for example books,music and various other products. The user has to first select thedesired product group, whereafter he can search within this productgroup for all available products that are offered by the merchantAmazon.com. In addition to this first coarse product classification, theproducts are subdivided into individual categories. For example, theavailable book titles are here subdivided into categories, such asbiographies, computer, money, community, children's books, youth books,art and culture, etc. When the user selects one of these productcategories, he is offered by the merchant a selection of severalproducts associated with this category. The user can again selectcertain sub-categories within a category. For example, under thecategory biographies, the sub-categories Federal Republic of Germany,DDR, important personalities, diaries or current events can be found.The user has the option to perform a hierarchical search in thesesub-categories or to search the respective selected category, respectivesub-category using key words.

[0004] If the user wishes to order a certain product from the goodsoffered by the merchant, then he has to describe this product with thesearch function so narrowly that the result of the search steers him tothe desired product, or he has to search through the hierarchicallyarranged search trees of the product categories. Only at the end of hissearch will he get an idea if a search actually leads him to the desiredproduct.

[0005] Another known sales offer is the sales offer in the Internet fromthe company Quelle. The selection method also enables the user to searchwithin the available products by using a selective search query. Becauseof the company Quelle offers a large number of products, a search of allavailable products produces a confusingly large number of results. Tosupport the user in his search and selection of the desired products,the offered products are already subdivided into specific categories,such as small appliances, home improvement, sports, fashion and consumerelectronics. After the user has selected one of these categories, he canperform a more refined search within the sub-categories. For example,under the category consumer electronics, there are sub-categoriesphotography, TV sets, DVD, etc. If the user looks for products for a DVDplayer, then he will certainty select the category DVD. In the categoryDVD, the products are again subdivided into the product categoriesDVD-software, sets, players. In the category software, the user nowfinds all available DVD movies and can select the desired product fromthe large number of offered products.

[0006] Disadvantageously, a search with search queries performedaccording to the aforedescribed state of the technology produces, onehand, an unmanageable large number of results. For the search to besuccessful, the user has to accurately describe the product he islooking for. On the other hand, the searches through the hierarchicallyconstructed search trees are very time-consuming for the user, and theuser only finds out at the end of the search if the correct product isamong the selection.

[0007] Starting from the aforedescribed state of the technology, it is atherefore an object to simplify the selection process in such a way thatthe number of results is limited by simplifying the criteria applied tothe product characteristics.

[0008] The invention solves the aforedescribed object in that thecriteria for the product characteristics are set on at least two scalesand the criteria on the scales are set with the help of at least oneinput device in conjunction with the graphic display unit.

[0009] Because the user can search through the offered products with thehelp of at least two scales, wherein the scales representcharacteristics of the products, a selection is possible based oncriteria relating to the product characteristics. Since the criteria onthe scales can be changed in parallel, the product offers can be easilynavigated. Representative results are displayed to the user alreadyduring the search within the product categories defined by the scales.For example, the entire range of nature films offered within a productcategory for nature films can be searched based on two scales, with onescale representing the mood expressed in the film and the second scalerepresenting the timeliness of the respective film. The display givesalready during the search an overview over the corresponding productsthat match the predetermined characteristics. This type of selectionmethod enables the user to search within a product offer in atime-saving manner, whereby the user does not have to precisely specifythe product in order to make his selection.

[0010] The criteria set on scales can be selected based on both discreteand continuous changes. When the criteria on the scales change in adiscrete manner, the products need to be classified in such a way thattheir characteristics can be associated with well-defined categories.When the criteria on the scales change in a continuous manner, theproducts need to be classified in such a way that they can be recalledwith the help of continuous scales. For example, a movie could beclassified on a “mood” scale between “gloomy” and “merry.” A movie can,on the other hand, be associated with exactly one of these twocategories, on the other hand, the movie can also be placed fuzzilybetween these two categories.

[0011] To better present the product and to visualize on the scales thechanges made by the user, it is helpful to subdivide the graphic displayunit into at least four sections in such a way that in a first sectionthe characteristics associated with the current criteria are displayed,that in a second section of the display unit a selection of the productscorresponding to a combination of the characteristics is displayed, thatin a third section the scales are displayed, and that in a fourthsection product information of the selected products is displayed. Thisenables the user, on one hand, to recognize the current criteria on thescales and, on the other hand, to select from an assortment of productsthat correspond to these criteria. The user will therefore know veryquickly in which direction the criteria have to be changed to find aproduct with the desired characteristics.

[0012] A guarantee can be given that the actually selected product isordered or that additional information regarding this product isobtained by showing an interface in a section of the graphic displayunit and by sending after an interaction between the user and theinterface information about the product that was selected at that timeto a remote computer and by processing this information with the help ofinformation associated with the user. A user can thereby convenientlyorder the selected product. Additional product information can also besent to the user in this manner. For example, with music products, theuser can listen to brief excerpts from the selected music piece.

[0013] The selection of the products is simplified to a large degree bydisplaying and/or playing graphic and/or acoustic content thatcorresponds to the respective criteria while the criteria on the scaleson the graphic display unit change. For example, when selecting movieproducts, movie clips from the movies can be played on the graphicdisplay unit while the criteria on the scales change. Images and soundcan also be played which are associated by the user with thecorresponding criteria.

[0014] By subdividing the data sets in a first step into data groupscharacterized by generic terms and by adapting in a second step thescales according to the selected data groups, the scales can bedynamically changed depending on the selected data groups. For examplewith movie products, it may be possible to offer a user for those moviesthat belong to the data group Nature Films a “mood” scale between“eventful” and “informative”, as well as a “time” scale between“current” and “ancient.”In the data group science-fiction, the “mood”scale can be moved between the values “gloomy” and “merry” and the“time” scale between “Middle Ages” and “distant future.”

[0015] The product selection is made more convenient by highlighting inthe first step on the graphic display unit on a body having a pluralityof planes a plane representing the actual data group depending on theselected top category, by setting in the second step criteria for theproduct characteristics, and by then highlighting on the graphic displayunit a location within the selected plane which represents thecombination of the at least two criteria. The criteria inputted by theuser are processed graphically so that the user is always informed aboutthe actual status of these criteria. Hence, he does not get lost duringthe search, but can find the products in a targeted fashion, which havethe characteristics matching the selected criteria.

[0016] The method of the invention can be implemented and modified innumerous ways. Reference is made at this point, for example, to theclaims that depend from claim 1, and, on the other hand, to thedescription of an embodiment of the method of the invention illustratedin the drawing. The drawing shows in:

[0017] FIG. 1 a first step of the selection method of the invention;

[0018] FIG. 2 a second step of the selection method of the invention.

[0019] FIG. 1 depicts a graphic display unit 100. The graphic displayunit 100 which is implemented, for example, as a LCD display or amonitor, is subdivided into two sections 102 and 104. The variousproduct categories 110 a-f for a particular product group, for examplebooks, music CDs or video movies, are displayed in section 102. Forexample, the product categories comedy, home, suspense, science-fiction,Western and cartoon are displayed in the product group video movies. Theuser can select from the product categories 110 a-f with the help of theinput device (not shown), for example a mouse. A cube 106 is shown insection 104. The cube is subdivided into different layers 106 a-f, whichrepresent the product categories 110 a-f that can be selected by theuser. When the user selects one of the product categories 110 a-f, thecorresponding plane of the cube 106 is optically highlighted. As seen inFIG. 1, the user has selected the product category 110 dscience-fiction. As a result of the selection, the plane 106 d of secure106 is optically highlighted. After the user has made a final selectionof a product category, the plane of the cube 106 that represents theproduct category selected by the user is highlighted on the graphicdisplay unit.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows such a plane 206. The graphic display unit 100 ishere subdivided into four sections. The plane 206 which represents theproduct category 110 d selected by the user is illustrated in section210. Section 230 always gives the user an overview over the selectedcriteria. In this section, the exemplary product category“Science-Fiction”, the product attribute “Future”, the mood “Gloomy” andthe era “The 80-ties” are shown for the movies to be displayed accordingto the criteria. In section 240, a selection of available products withthe characteristics corresponding to the selected criteria are displayedto the user. The user can select the desired product with the inputdevice (not shown). After the user has selected the desired product,more information relating to this product can be displayed to the userin section 250. For example, an image or a film clip of a selected moviecan be shown in this field. In addition, title, release date, actor andsales price can be displayed.

[0021] As mentioned above, the plane 206 is depicted in section 210. Theplane 206 represents the two scales 205 a and 205 b on which the usercan select the criteria for the products within the selected productcategory. While the user navigates within this plane 206 with the helpof the input device (not shown), the corresponding location 208 isoptically highlighted. The user can now freely move on these scales anddefine criteria for his selection. The farther he moves along the scale205 a, the farther the advances in the “era” scale. The user can nowselect along the scale 205 a among science-fiction movies from theMiddle Ages and from the distant future. Along the scale 205 b, the usercan select a criterion relating to the mood conveyed by the movie to beselected. The scale 205 b offers the user the possibility to selectbetween a merry and a very gloomy mood. A selection of availableproducts is displayed in the section 240 reflecting the combination ofthe criteria on the scales of the plane 206. It would also be feasiblefor the user to move in section 210 not only within a two-dimensionalplane 206, but to select with the help of suitable input devices searchcriteria on scales arranged along other directions in amulti-dimensional space.

[0022] The user can order the product with the help of section 220. Forthis purpose, the user activates the plane 220 with the help of theinput device (not shown), whereafter the product data for the selectedproduct are transmitted to a remote computer (not shown). The computerprocesses the user's order, and the user then receives the orderedproduct.

1. Method for selecting products wherein in data set with a plurality ofcharacteristics of the product is associated with each product, whereina product is selected based on the criteria selected by a user regardingthe characteristics, and wherein the selection is displayed on a graphicdisplay unit, characterized in that the search criteria for thecharacteristics are selected on at least two scales, and the criteria onthe scales are selected with the help of at least one input device inconjunction with a graphic display unit.
 2. Method according to claim 1,characterized in that the criteria are selected based on discretechanges on the scales.
 3. Method according to claim 1, characterized inthat the criteria are selected based on continuous changes on thescales.
 4. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterizedin that the graphic display unit is subdivided into at least foursections in such a way that in a first section the characteristicsassociated with the current criterion are displayed, that in a secondsection of the display unit a selection of the products corresponding toa combination of the characteristics is displayed, that in a thirdsection the scales are displayed, and that in a fourth section productinformation of the selected products is displayed.
 5. Method accordingto one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that an interface is shownin a section of the graphic display unit and after an interactionbetween the user and the interface information about the product thatwas selected at that time is sent to a remote computer, and that thisinformation is processed with the help of information associated withthe user.
 6. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterizedin that when the user changes criteria, graphic content corresponding tothe respective criteria is displayed on the graphic display unit. 7.Method according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that whenthe user changes criteria, acoustic content corresponding to therespective criteria is played by loudspeakers substantially arranged onthe graphic display unit.
 8. Method according to one of the claims 1 to7, characterized in that in a first step, the data sets are subdividedinto data groups characterized by generic terms and that in a secondstep, the scales are adapted according to the corresponding selecteddata groups.
 9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that inthe first step, depending on the selected top category, a planerepresenting the actual data group is highlighted on the graphic displayunit on a body having a plurality of planes, and that in the secondstep, the criteria for the product characteristics are set, and that alocation within the selected plane which represents the combination ofthe at least two criteria is highlighted on the graphic display unit.10. Method according to one of the claims 8 to 9, characterized in thatthe body representing the planes of the individual top categories isformed by a cube.
 11. Method according to one of the claims 8 to 9,characterized in that the body representing the planes of the individualtop categories is formed by a sphere.